You might be a youth worker if Mondays are hard. I mean, come on! Sunday happens every.single.week ... it's every 7 days without exception (Wednesdays too for that matter). You've hardly recovered from the ministry year and it's summer. The pace can be relentless.
This summer your bed is basically a sleeping bag somewhere in the world on any given week which isn't terrible when you have air conditioning. You hope your spouse and kids remember what you look like come August. For real. But summer is what we live for - intensive experiences where we see God move in crazy big ways and the heaviness that can be ministry is lightened when decisions and breakthroughs happen. You get to be creative, have meaningful conversations, call out gifts, empower leaders, and use your adaptability muscle when flights get cancelled or they run out of s'more ingredients for the campfire. Summer is something special and it may very well renew your vision.
Summer captures your fun factor but it also brings up your insecurities - communicating with anxious parents, delegating responsibilities to other leaders, and keeping track of all the details (especially the dollars and cents). Oh, and the school year kickoff is looming. But summer also raises the warning flag about your own relationship with God. Your soul's health is tested and exposed in intense seasons like this. Sometimes it feels like you're teaching about an intimate faith you haven't lived in a while. (Can I get an amen? Just me?)
But you believe in this Jesus stuff. It's the vision of it all. You might be a youth worker if you truly believe in this stuff although the church frustrates you so much at times you could scream. Privately you share on Facebook groups and with your buddies that you feel like you're more on the outside of your church's theology and cultural temperature than you wish. But you love these students and you believe in what you're building. So you suck it up and wish for change. There's an inner angst that won't go away. It's one of the reasons you connect best to teenagers.
You might be a youth worker if you check Instagram every hour and Facebook on the daily. You use it for connection to other youth workers, parents, and college friends but it can also foster a more loneliness and the sense that you're not doing enough. It's a gift until it's a curse.
You might be a youth worker if your smart phone is a couple versions older than the newest version, drive a car that's way past the extended warranty, and your jeans are tighter than is comfortable anymore. You're barely making it some months and your savings account can't really be saving for anything. You're stretched in every way. You're settling for some things in your body and relationships that you know aren't the best for you. There's a low burn in your soul that you can't ignore because you've ignored it for too long already. You're not in youth ministry as a stepping stone, but you also know you can't do this forever. What's your vision, friend?
Now what? You need...
leadership development with a youth ministry twist
and spiked with spiritual formation
That's a cocktail for life! You hope for change. You long for transformation but it's scary what that may require. You want to be an influential voice that leads change within your church, but you're not there yet. You get that you might be a seasoned youth worker when you realize that being cool isn't nearly as important as being a warm presence for teenagers to be with. As you swing home from work tonight and pick up a quick dinner along the way, you thank God for work that matters with people you love. And you ask God for more - more wellness, more connection, more rest, more effectiveness. Lift your heads above the clouds.
You might be (some version) of this youth worker. There is more. This fall, 10 youth workers from all over the country will walk with each other so they can become better versions of themselves and in turn better leaders for their ministries. They'll get you because they are you. Can you sense this is the right next step for you? Then, check out more of the details HERE or just jump in and ...
